%0 Journal Article
%T Health care workers and disaster preparedness: barriers to and facilitators of willingness to respond
%A Chinwe Ogedegbe
%A Themba Nyirenda
%A Gary DelMoro
%A Edward Yamin
%A Joseph Feldman
%J International Journal of Emergency Medicine
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1865-1380-5-29
%X An anonymous online survey of hospital employees, who were grouped into clinical and non-clinical staff, was conducted. The objective of this study was to compare perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff with regard to personal needs, willingness to report (WTR) to work, and level of confidence in the hospital¡®s ability to protect safety and provide personal protective equipment (PPE) in the event of a disaster.A total of 5,790 employees were surveyed; 41£¿% responded (77£¿% were women and 63£¿% were clinical staff). Seventy-nine percent either strongly or somewhat agreed that they know what to do in the event of a disaster, and the majority was willing to report for duty in the event of a disaster. The most common barriers included ¡®caring for children¡¯ (55£¿%) and ¡®caring for pets¡¯ (34£¿%). Clinical staff was significantly more likely than non-clinical staff to endorse childcare responsibilities (58.9£¿% vs. 48£¿%) and caring for pets (36£¿% vs. 30£¿%, respectively) as barriers to WTR. Older age was a significant facilitator of WTR [odds ratio (OR) 1.49, 95£¿% CI: 1.27-1.65]. Non-clinical staff was more confident in the hospital¡¯s ability to protect safety and provide PPE compared to clinical staff (OR 1.43, 95£¿% CI: 1.15-1.78).Clinical and non-clinical staff differ in the types of barriers to WTR endorsed, as well as their confidence in the hospital¡¯s ability to provide them with PPE and guarantee their safety.
%K Disaster preparedness
%K Health care workers
%K Willingness to report
%U http://www.intjem.com/content/5/1/29/abstract